Councilman urges mayor, FDNY to dump disgraced EMT who is son of deputy assistant chief

A man sources identified as FDNY EMT Robert Gala was caught on surveillance video in Brooklyn rushing across a quiet street at an unsuspecting man. The assailant flashed a gold police shield and ordered the victim to place his hands against the wall, according to police.

A city councilman who has accused the FDNY of running “two systems” of discipline within its ranks called on the mayor and the fire commissioner Wednesday to terminate disgraced EMT Robert Gala, who was found guilty of forgery and ignoring 911 calls in a city probe.

Gala, 25, the son of FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala, remains on the city’s EMS payroll despite a history of arrests for impersonating a cop that dates to 2013, and accusations of falsifying records and blowing off priority medical calls that were substantiated by a Department of Investigation probe in 2017.

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Gala was never convicted of impersonating a cop.

“It’s deplorable. He’s gotten the favor of his father’s position,” said City Councilman Andy King (D-Bronx).

King previously criticized the FDNY for enabling nepotism and favoritism by hiding behind the tradition of looking out for family and friends.

EMT Robert Gala (left) is the son of FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala Jr. (right). (Obtained by Daily News; Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)

“If you are falsifying documents and you are found guilty, there is no other conversation than termination,” said King. “If I were to walk about impersonating a cop, I would be locked up.”

He faulted Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro and Mayor de Blasio for not taking a tougher approach to enforcing department rules.

“It’s not like this is a one-time incident. When do we let favors stop being more important than the safety of New Yorkers,” said King. “The mayor has a responsibility to act, the commissioner has a responsibility to act, and if they can’t, they are part of the problem.”

King butted heads with the FDNY a few months ago when another EMT-turned-firefighter — Joseph Cassano, son of former Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano — was allowed to join the Bravest.

Joseph Cassano was welcomed back to the department in 2016, several years after he quit in disgrace following a series of tweets that attacked women and minorities.

Gala, too, had hoped to become a firefighter by following the fast track given to EMS employees. He took the special promotional exam in late 2016 and scored a 92, landing firmly in hiring contention at spot 614, public records show.

He’s since been disqualified, said FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer, although he declined to say why or when.

“If it were a black or Hispanic applicant with that kind of record, it’s guaranteed they wouldn’t have even have gotten this far,” said King. “There should be no room for bigotry, or favoritism.”

Oddly enough, King’s words are similar to an argument that Michael Gala often made in the pages of The Chief-Leader newspaper and other publications when he was a battalion chief and the department was in the throes of fighting a landmark discrimination lawsuit filed by black firefighters — which the FDNY lost.

In a letter published July 13, 2007, Gala criticized the Vulcans — the association of black firefighters that sued the FDNY — for wanting what he saw as special treatment.

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“Candidates of any race and gender must seek out the job of FDNY firefighter the old-fashioned way. They must earn it,” Gala wrote.

In another letter to the newspaper, dated Feb. 15, 2008, Gala complained that the opinions of white men in the FDNY were overlooked and said he had a “passion .. for preserving the merit system” as a way to ensure that only the best got on the job.